FEATURE WRITING HISTORY PDF

# LASU Dept of Journalism ## Feature Writing ### MCM 203 ## Historical beginnings of feature writing ### Dr. Udo Ibuot # History and origins of feature writing in journalism - Feature writing is a concept that is commonly associated with glossy magazines and newspapers. - It describes anything abou...

# LASU Dept of Journalism ## Feature Writing ### MCM 203 ## Historical beginnings of feature writing ### Dr. Udo Ibuot # History and origins of feature writing in journalism - Feature writing is a concept that is commonly associated with glossy magazines and newspapers. - It describes anything about journalism that is not (hard) news. - Feature writing owes its origins to the writers' clubs in the United States in the early years of the 20th century. - Members of such writers' clubs did not describe themselves as journalists, and the practice was different from that of news production. - The Blue Pencil Club of which Harry Franklin Harrington was a member was one of such writers' clubs. - Harrington's 1925 book, *Chats on Feature Writing*, was dedicated to feature writing based on conversations with other members of the club. - One of the earliest mentions of the concept of feature writing is found in a 1912 American textbook on journalism. - It defines a feature story as "one in which the news element is made subordinate." - While the concept stems from American journalism, it is used in varying degrees in Europe and other parts of the world. - The concept is used with some variations in European countries, and in African and Asian countries with historic ties with Britain. - In most of these countries it is usually associated with the printed press, but in German-speaking cultures, it refers mostly to radio journalism # Definition of feature writing - Features is defined as any journalistic writing that is not news. - Thus any material that can not be published as news either because of its length or scope can be published as feature. - It is any article that is written with a view to elaborating about an exclusive or a distinct characteristic, and is marked with designated information or details of an issue, or event. - A feature story is one that focuses on **hard news** but is not affected by deadlines as the **hard news** stories. - It brings a softer writing style to **hard news**, and often seeks to humanise such stories that had earlier been reported in the **news cycle**. - A feature story can also be described as a type of **journalistic writing** that is written to entertain, educate or inform. - Any material that has been published as **news** can also be presented as a feature article, provided it is expanded to accommodate information that can not go into the **news story**. - Okoye (2006) defines **feature writing** as an in-depth and factual write-up on a topical issue which seeks to give comprehensive information in a more captivating and relaxed style than the **straight news**. - In summary, it can, therefore, be said that **feature writing** is an attempt to report, inform, educate, or persuade the reader, listener or viewer in a more expansive, illustrative or descriptive way. # Difference between feature writing and news writing - A number of newspaper readers are often confused over the distinction between a news story and a feature story. - Here are some basic differences between the two: - While a news story usually covers recent or breaking news, a feature story can be issue-specific and might not be recent. - A news story summarises the event whereas a feature story focuses on anecdotal references. - A feature contains many angles and sources whereas, a news story may focus on a single source or angle. - In terms of structure, the news story usually follows an inverted pyramid style while feature writing has a flexible structure and can take a linear/non-linear scale. - The conclusion forms a very important part of the feature. - Recent news can be covered in a news feature and it can also abandon the inverted pyramid structure to cover a human interest story using more details and emotion. - Feature articles usually adopt the **APPLAUSE** formula, where each letter represents an issue: - **A - Appeal.** A feature must evoke interest. If it doesn't, it can't ever become a feature story. - **P - Plain facts.** Facts are stranger than fiction and so goes the adage. If we are to believe this, it becomes obvious that facts sell more than fictions do. - **P - Personalities.** Readers like celebrities. If a feature narrates the personal story of an individual who is important enough, readers will lap it up. - **L - Logic.** Obviously, a feature story has to conform to logical considerations. If it is not dictated by a natural flow of facts, no one will buy the argument inherent in the story. - **A - Action.** A feature should ideally incite people into action. Only then can it fulfill its objective. What is journalism if it doesn't spur people into doing something? - **U - Universal or unique.** A feature should have a universal orientation. It needs to be useful to all and sundry, and not necessarily target a certain section of readers alone. - **S - Significance.** The feature has to deal with a subject matter that has impact on people's lives. It should have some relevance in the daily lives of people. - **E - Energy/enthusiasm:** A feature should be emphatic in its approach. It should be convinced about its own subject matter. - Apart from these, a feature story should be unique in its style of reporting and should have a different style of writing and expression. - Hard news writers follow the inverted pyramid structure while soft news or feature writers go by the upright pyramid structure. - A news story is usually done in the inverted pyramid style, where facts are presented from the top to bottom in a structured manner. - The hard news reporter's view has no place in the body of the news. - A news story has to be objective, topical, fresh, bare facts, and generally fitted in a **strait-jacket frame** to meet the 5 Ws and 1 H. - But a feature article is not necessarily written in that formulaic manner. - Writing a news story is done within a tight deadline after which the story loses its worth, but a feature article can be written in a somewhat relaxed, easy timeline, and enjoys longer shelf life. - A feature usually conforms to the three-act structure of story-telling wherein the narrative is divided into three distinct segments - the setup, the confrontation and the resolution. - There is also plenty of scope for packing multiple viewpoints in a feature, though this may not be feasible or necessary in all features. - However, for a feature to be read and to retain the reader's attention for longer period, it has to offer much more details, be presented in a refined prose. - A news story may not be published with a picture, but a feature is usually illustrated with photographs or infographics. # Important ingredients in feature writing - A good feature writer must possess 'gift of the gab' and a superb command on the language. - He also needs to have talent and adequate thinking skills to approach the subject from multiple ways. - The following are some of the important and crucial elements and ingredients that are hallmarks of good feature writing: - Simple, flawless language will win and retain the reader. - Avoidance of difficult words, unfamiliar jargons, intricate ideas; and heavily loaded sentences. - Personal views on the topic should be expressed frankly, as readers are interested in knowing what the writer thinks about the issue. - Writer's thoughts should be developed in a logical, cogent, chronological and engaging style to earn the reader's support. - The writer should adopt a personal approach as this will quickly inform the reader about what the author is writing about. - Writer should give his innate description, solicit the spectator's mood, facial expressions, and personal views. - Writer should always be on the look out for an opportunity to quote key, punchy words from the conversation with any interviewee. - Features are often longer than news stories: - To provide abundant and self-contained information, a feature has to be longer than a news item. - The news story merely offers snippets, but a feature is more than that. - Generally acceptable length of a feature is between 1,000 and 1,200 words for a daily newspaper, and between 1,500 and 2,000 words for a magazine. - Magazines usually have longer shelf life and retentional value than a daily newspaper. - Pictures, and informational graphics: No good feature will look attractive enough or be acceptable for publication without a couple of good pictures or graphics on the issues discussed. - A crisply done feature on a highly debated issue or topic is one of the best marketing pranks to allure readers to the publication. - The feature writer should look ahead, by planning a feature for the forthcoming occasions. - Festivals such as **Democracy day**, **Independence day**, **Eid**, **Christmas**, **New Year**, etc. should be planned for weeks in advance. - Writers should be imaginative, think ahead of others as many new things are going to happen in the not too distant future. - The feature writer should be knowledgeable about such events, and collect materials and relevant information about such forthcoming events much in advance. # Feature writing and other forms of journalistic writing - There are basic differences between writing features for newspapers and other journalistic write-ups. - Features also differ from other journalistic genres of writings such as opinion columns, advertorials, and editorial comments. - Though no hard and fast rules and regulations exist for defining or dividing these journalistic writings, these genres vary from newspaper to newspaper. - A feature articleis not **hard news**; it is not **review**; it is not a **column**; it is not an **essay**; it is not an **editorial**; it is not a **filler**; and it is not an **advertorial**. - In spite of these, there is a lot of common observations among newspaper editorial contents all over the world. - For example, most newspapers regularly carry **editorial** and **op-ed pages** or **opinion columns**, and so on. - Other editorial content pages include: **business**, **economy-stock exchanges**, or **agriculture**. - **Entertainment** forms an important aspect of any newspaper's content these days: review pages on **cinema, films, CDs, television, music, theatre, radio, arts, books, etc.** are usually found. - There are also columns on **motoring, comic strips, cartoons, hospitality and hotels.** - The **editorial** and **op-ed pages** generally comprise: opinion, commentary, views, interviews, news analysis, backgrounders, rejoinders, obituaries and so on. - Some newspapers also carry specially commissioned columns, religious write-ups, commentaries from the Bible, Quran, and other scriptures. - Though some of these genres of writings may not strictly be journalistic, yet they have, because of their frequency, become part of the regular editorial content in most newspapers.